My earlier work spans mechanical logic, radio-based localization, cooperative aerial robots, and satellite electronics.
Explore the research & engineering archiveJoined Ocean Exchange's Americas Review Team, evaluating ocean-innovation proposals.
UCLA · Robotics
Aaron John Sabu
ആരൻ ജോൺ സാബു
Perception, planning, and control for field robotics.
Ph.D. candidate, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
Researcher, Sensing & Robotics for Infrastructure Lab
News
Our Heron USV field testing at FATHOMWERX and the Port of Hueneme was featured in coverage by FATHOMWERX and Matter Labs.
Joined UCLA Samueli's Summer Undergraduate Research Program (SURP) as a daily lab supervisor for marine-robotics research.
Selected as a UCLA Grad Slam semifinalist, presenting my research in a three-minute talk.
Presented our marine-infrastructure robotics research at UCLA's undergraduate research fair.
Advanced to doctoral candidacy after passing UCLA's University Oral Qualifying Examination.
Began serving as a graduate student representative on UCLA's Committee on Academic Freedom and Legislative Assembly.
Presented research on orbital rendezvous and capture at the IEEE Aerospace Conference. Read the paper.
Reappointed to UCLA's John Wooden Center Board of Governors, continuing my service in campus recreation governance.
Research & Projects
Autonomous marine infrastructure inspection
GRANDE / ORACLE · Current Research
My current research asks how a robot can turn an inspection request into useful measurements of real infrastructure. I work with the Clearpath Heron unmanned surface vehicle, integrating LiDAR, cameras, inertial sensing, and sonar with mapping and navigation.
GRANDE provides the platform integration; ORACLE investigates language-grounded inspection planning. The work connects mission intent, navigation goals, and inspection viewpoints, with an emphasis on uncertainty and what the robot can actually observe.
Watch field-testing coverageFATHOMWERX · Video by Matter Labs
ORBEX-A
Adaptive control for orbital capture
Adaptive dynamic tube MPC for rendezvous with tumbling, noncooperative objects under uncertain dynamics and time-varying safety constraints.
MACRO
Multi-agent space assembly
Distributed allocation, collision-aware motion planning, and attitude consensus for autonomous construction of large orbital structures.
Manta-LMPC
Decentralized learning MPC
A safe-set learning MPC framework with APF warm starts, learned terminal sets, and priority-aware spatial constraints for coordinated agents.
SQuAT Plan
Agile quadrotor trajectory planning
Time-optimal, jerk-constrained trajectory generation through cluttered environments with nonlinear optimization and ROS visualization.
Earlier work
Selected publications
2025
2021
2021
2020
Work in Progress
Manuscripts in preparation on field robotics and AI for construction.
Is Your Model Dreaming? History-Aware Validation for Grounded Robot Plan Reuse in Infrastructure Inspections
ORACLE · In preparation · 2026
ConstRAG: Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) for Construction Information Synthesis with LLMs
In preparation · 2026
Typed Cost-Mass Measures for Auditable Construction Package Matching with Energy Distance
In preparation · 2026
Additional manuscripts are in preparation on robotic assessment of submerged cables and reliable marine-robot localization.
Teaching & Service
My teaching emphasizes conceptual intuition, active problem-solving, and a classroom where students feel comfortable asking difficult questions.
From 2021 to 2026, I taught and mentored across more than ten quarters at UCLA, spanning physics, aeronautics, systems engineering, calculus, and the history of science. This included calculus instruction through UCLA’s Freshman Summer Bridge Program. Earlier work at IIT Bombay included digital electronics, Python instruction, and Malayalam-language STEM outreach through the Open Learning Initiative.
Selected Service
- Ocean Exchange Americas Review Team 2026
- UCLA Legislative Assembly 2025–2026
- Committee on Academic Freedom, UCLA 2025–2026
- Student Conduct Committee 2023–2026
- John Wooden Center Board of Governors 2023–2026
- AIAA SciTech reviewer 2023–2024
Education
Ph.D. candidate, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
University of California, Los Angeles
M.S., Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of California, Los Angeles
B.Tech. (Honors), Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
Contact
For research collaborations and student mentorship inquiries, email is the best way to reach me.
aaron@aaronjs.me